Forever & Always.

It was ten in the morning when the doorbell rang I had to scramble out of bed wondering who the Hell would be calling this early. Aidan hadn't come home last night but I doubted it was him as I knew he was due to be in work at nine and, no matter how hungover he was, he'd still go. He couldn't afford to miss a day. 

I bounded clumsily down the stairs, dressed only in my blue Hello Kitty pyjamas and my hair a mess. I prayed that whoever was at the door would forgive my dishevelled appearance. 
The mystery person behind the door pressed the bell again just as I reached it and I rolled my eyes at their impatience. 
My fingers fumbled with the latch for a couple of seconds before I pulled the heavy wooden door open. Standing there, with a plastic Superquinn bag full of fattening junk food, a handful of DVDs and a huge smile on his face was none other than Frank Iero. 

"Hey Ciara."

I could feel my lips form a huge grin, "Frankie!"

He opened his arms - dropping the bag and DVDs - and I stepped happily into his embrace. Closing my eyes and burying my face in his shoulder I could smell that distinct Frankie scent that can only be described as a combination of soap, cigarettes and Crayola crayons. Childish innocence mixed with dirty habits - a smell like no other. 

I had almost thought that meeting Frank in the graveyard had all been a very nice dream. It all seemed far too good to be true. So seeing him standing on my doorstep had made me smile like some kind of crazy person. 

"I'm glad that meeting you last night wasn't a dream," I mumbled absentmindedly, leaning my head into the crook of his neck as we continued to embrace on the doorstep. 

He chuckled and I felt his chest move up and down as he did so, "I'm glad too. Now c'mon, let's watch some shitty ass horror flicks together."

His hand found mine and he led the way into my house, as if he already belonged there. 



"Remember when you wanted a Batman costume for Christmas?" I giggled as we watched the old T.V. series that had Adam West as Batman. "And you cried when you didn't get it?"

A light blush coloured Frank's face, "Uhm...yeah," He chuckled a little. "I would've made one badass Batman."

"I promised myself I'd buy you one for your birthday," I smiled but then remembered and frowned. "But I wasn't there for it."

The short man crawled across the couch, over blankets and cushions, until he was right beside me, "It's okay C, were together now." He pulled me into a hug, "And that's all that matters."

"I'll buy you one this year," I smiled against his chest. "I promise."

"Okay," I heard the smile in his voice and it made me feel better, like I was slowly making it up to him after leaving. 

We cuddled on the couch watching stupid shoes and early all the junk food Frank had brought with him. It felt just like old times. At any moment I expected Gerard to come in, whining about how Frank and I never invited him to our movie days. 

"So...What do you wanna do now?" Frank asked me, muting the T.V. so he could talk to me. 

I wasn't listening to the short rockstar though, my ear was cocked to the door that led to the hall. I'd heard something from outside. I was quiet for a couple more seconds and then heard it again. That distinct sound of an engine turning into the driveway. 

"Frankie, you have to go. Like now !"

He looked at me with his eyebrows raised, "Why the hurry?"

"Uhm..." I but down on my lip and tried to hear if there were noises at the front door yet. "Aidan's just outside and he'll go mad if he sees you here."

My best friend took my hands gently in his and looked me straight in the eye, "C'mon hon, you can't let him rule your life like this."

I dragged the blonde and black haired man through the door and into the kitchen where the back door was. There was the sound of a key turning in the old lock on the front door and the usual string of obscenities when it stuck. 

"Please. Just go Frankie," I pleaded with him, nearly in tears. "For me."

He nodded, but I could see in his eyes that he didn't want to leave me, "Fine, but just answer me one thing: why are you staying?"

I glanced back over my shoulder hearing the old wooden front door open and I pushed Frank out into the back garden, "That's simple Frank - I love him."

He nodded and shoved a piece of paper into my hand before running down the garden and jumping over the low fence that led to the main road. I exhaled loudly, he was safe. I closed the lightweight PVC door quietly before glancing at the scrap of paper and seeing his familiar but messy handwriting. There was a number scrawled across the top and, underneath it, the words Call me if you wanna hang out tomorrow. Or if you need anything. And I mean ANYTHING . :) F Xo.

The door to the kitchen opened and hit off the wall with a bang behind me. Hurriedly, I shoved the little piece of paper into the pocket of my pyjama pants before I turned to face my fiancé. 

"What the fuck is with the mess in the other room?" He growled, his brown eyes glaring at me and the ends of his badly bleached hair seeming to spark with anger. 

"I...I wasn't feeling too well today baby," I tried my best to look ill as I looked up at him through my eyelashes. "So I had a pig-out movie day. I was just about to clean it up. I'm sorry."

He raised an eyebrow and regarded me with suspicion, "Then why are there two glasses on the table?"

I froze and silently cursed myself for forgetting to clean them up. Aidan smirked triumphantly down at me, thinking that he know had something to blamed me for. 

"Oh," I shrugged nonchalantly. "Oisín came over for a bit to chat."

Aidan's eyes raked my body and I suddenly felt very self-conscious of my appearance. I was still in my pyjamas because I hadn't seen the point in getting dressed when it was only Frank. He had seen me in pjs countless times. The only thing I'd done with my appearance was brush my hair and pull it back into a messy ponytail. I knew that - in Aidan's eyes - I was a mess and unfit for company. He always said that people only liked to see me when I had make-up on, that I wasn't pretty without it. 

"Mhmm..." He murmured, obviously not believing me, before looking back up at my face. "And why did you have that pathetic child in our house?"

"He's not pathetic!" I automatically defended the teen who had never even been in our house. This lie was turning out to be nearly as much trouble as the truth would have been. 

"Yeah he is," My fiancé sneered, his upper lip curling with contempt. "All he ever seems to do is whine and cry."

"He just lost his best friend to suicide. Do you not remember what that was like Aid?" I asked him, tears forming in my eyes. How could he be so cruel? So heartless? Had he completely forgotten what it was like for us when we lost Fergal and Rachel? "He's the same age that we were."

Aidan's harsh stare didn't even soften at my words. Instead he just screamed at me for mentioning Rachel before raising his hand to strike me. 

He loves me. He loves me. He loves me and he doesn't mean any of this. He loves me and I love him.

A fist collided harshly with my stomach and I curled up in agony, dropping like a stone to the floor. 

I love him. And He loves me, right?

My stomach throbbed and I could feel the beginnings of a bruise. 
I'll take a bruise and know you're worth it...